Amid calls from Black health advocates, Biden administration to ban menthol cigarettes
The president is expected to support calls for a ban on the flavored tobacco, but putting it into place could take time
The Biden administration is potentially placing a ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes.
The official announcement is set to happen this week, according to anonymous Biden administration officials. The decision will impact Black smokers most as they overwhelmingly use menthol cigarettes, as reported by
The Washington Post, though advocacy groups and lawmakers have been pushing for the ban for years. But even if a ban does happen, actually putting it into place may take years.
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Biden administration expected to announce plan to ban menthol cigarettes
The administration s announcement is likely to be hailed by antismoking organizations as a critical and long-overdue step in curbing tobacco use.
By Laurie McGinleyWashington Post
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Packs of menthol cigarettes and other tobacco products at a store in San Francisco in 2018. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu,File
WASHINGTON – The Biden administration is expected to announce this week that it will propose a ban on menthol cigarettes, an action urgently sought by tobacco opponents and civil rights groups that say African Americans have been disproportionately hurt by the industry’s aggressive targeting of Black communities.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) The Biden administration this week is expected to propose a ban on menthol cigarettes, a move backed by civil rights groups that say Black Americans are hurt by the industry s aggressive targeting of the product, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
The administration will seek to ban menthol and other flavors in mass-produced cigars, the newspaper reported, citing unidentified administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration faces a Thursday court deadline to respond to a 2013 citizen s petition seeking a ban on menthols. Public health groups filed a lawsuit last year in federal district court in Northern California to require the FDA to respond to the petition.
The action has been urgently sought by tobacco opponents and civil rights groups who say African Americans have been disproportionately hurt by the industry’s aggressive targeting of Black communities.
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Although there has been a sharp decline in traditional smoking thanks to existing anti-smoking campaigns, tobacco still remains a leading source of illness and death in the U.S. and worldwide. It is most critical among people of color.
Anti-smoking groups have been waiting for an opportunity to push their aggressive smoking bans for years. Riding on the success of Black Lives Matter, a movement that focuses on social injustice primarily on police brutality anti-smoking groups are pointing out health disparities involving Black smokers.
“The predatory marketing of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products must be stopped and we should all recognize this as a social justice issue, and one that disproportionately impacts youth and communities of color,” read an open letter from 10 civil rights and Black health organizations to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra pressing for a ban.